Apple, enough with the stupid iPhone ‘S’ naming already

Hey Siri is just one of the major new features Cook announced last week in the new iPhones. Apple releases the iPhone on a tick-tock cycle; with the “tock” device typically being a modest refinement of the “tick” device that debuted the year prior with a new form factor and other upgrades. This is traditionally a “tock” year, but Cook bristles at this notion. “This is clearly not an off-year issue,” he argues. “This is substantial change.” — John Paczkowski, BuzzFeed, September 15, 2015

“First, we have Paczkowski — a respected and experienced Apple journalist — explaining to readers that iPhone’s major innovations arrive every other year,” Ken Segall writes for Observatory. “Would John (or anyone else) explain it this way if there were no S-year naming? He either believes that Siri, 3D Touch, Touch ID and other S-innovations were minor, or he has drawn a logical conclusion from Apple’s naming scheme.”

Segall writes, “Second, we have Tim Cook bristling at the notion of iPhone ‘off-years.’ Well … Tim would have nothing to bristle about if Apple hadn’t created this whole ‘off-year’ nonsense in the first place. The perception is a direct result of Apple’s naming system.”

iPhone “S” years usher in hugely significant features, such as oleophobic displays, significant GPU improvements, world phone capability, Siri personal assistant, video stabilization, panorama photos, 64-bit processors, TD-LTE support, Touch ID, and 3D Touch, among other improvements and additions. Each year’s iPhone deserves its own number. By not doing so, Apple is shooting itself in the foot; handicapping iPhones with an “S” every other year. Why Tim Cook or Phil Schiller haven’t put an end to this stupid – yes, stupid – “S” naming is inexplicable. Why don’t you just name it “iPhone No Big Deal This Year,” Tim and Phil?

Here’s what you say onstage and in the press release when there’s no “iPhone 7s” and you jump directly from iPhone 7 to iPhone 8: “The improvements are such that the new iPhone deserves its own number.” Period. Done. Mission accomplished. It’s your naming convention, Apple, and you can correct your stupid mistake at any time.

It’s as if Apple is naming iPhone models solely for their own internal inventory purposes, just so they can keep track of which model is which, with no regard for how the iPhones are perceived by the rest of the world – the media, the customers, etc. – outside One Infinite Loop.

The “S” doesn’t stand for “Speed,” it stands for “Stupid.” Yes, we know it’s the same case design; we know the “S” version is the one you make the big margins on; we get it. Call it the “S” internally if you must, but don’t be so engineer-ish that you insist on calling it that on the box, too!

It’s not about sales figures or the model’s success (as long as “iPhone” is in the name, it will be a success), it’s about setting a tone. In this case, with the “S,” Apple sets a tone that they are just making an incremental update… Why gift the naysayers with the opportunity, Apple? — MacDailyNews Take, April 5, 2013

30 Comments

Comment navigation

And if they incremented the model number yet kept the same casing they’d be slated for that. Maybe they should just call it the iPhone and iPhone plus but identify them by year of release like they do with Macs.

New model number increments (eg, 4, 5, 6) indicate a NEW physical design (eg, form factor) …plus any other internal & software improvements that are made at the time.

Intervening “s” model increments indicate NO CHANGE in physical design / form factor, with only internal & software improvements. This MAY calm down the design, manufacturing, and production cycle while keeping costs low, too. In my opinion, it never meant the improvements were insignificant. (Although the changes are not apparent just by looking at the device, so people have to figure it out for themselves…)

This is exactly what it is. There are over 10000 different cases and bumper styles for iPhones. My factory guy told me back in 2008 that Apple will make their work easier with 2 year iPhone design cycle, also promising not to make too drastic changes in details. It’s much easier for the customers too “Fits 4/4S models”.

It will be interesting to see if special cases for the 6 line still fit the 6s (particularly Lifeproof cases), since the size has changed slightly.

That said, I don’t mind the fact that the S naming convention helps designate external form factors. It’s clear that Apple isn’t losing sales because some people think that the S phones didn’t change enough to warrant an upgrade – they’re already selling as many as they can make.

Much ado about nothing. It’s an incremental update, albeit a substantial one. So what?

Honestly, they should start numbering them in the year they come out. This year’s model should have been the iPhone 15. Then when you go to buy a used one, you’ll know exactly how old it is. It’s called truth in advertising…

Oh Ken, more of the jouranalistic buffoonery that we’ve come to expect from the like of you.

“First, we have Paczkowski — a respected and experienced Apple journalist”
– Oh come on talk about an oxymoron.

Let me put on my sarcasm drip and percolate some coffee. So here you have on the one hand the brilliant, the respected, the experienced Paczkowski telling us that “Apple releases the iPhone on a tick-tock cycle” and in redundant journalistic fashion “explaining to readers that iPhone’s major innovations arrive every other year.”

On the other hand some guy, what’s his name again… oh yeah Tim Cook who doesn’t even merit an adjective who bristles about what you say. You should thank your stars he doesn’t do something really despicable like remove your comments from the web.

Do a few minutes research Ken, that is if you have the capacity to do so and you’ll find out that Tim Cook is the CEO, that’s Chief Executive Officer of Apple and as such he’s the one the with all the power and control.

If you don’t like the product just don’t buy it. Keep talking though, far be it for me to stoop down to the depths of censoring someone’s freedom of speech. It’s just too hard for someone with a spine to do that.

Personally, I’m happy with the S numbering system because S seems to stand for Sorted.
The 4S is way better than the 4 and I’m hoping likewise the 6S is going to be a substantial improvement on the 6.
Stronger,
2nd Gen fingerprint tech
Screen / haptic feedback
Etc.